Methods for the preservation of biological materials are employed in many clinical and veterinary applications wherein living material, including organs, tissues and cells, is harvested and stored in vitro for some period of time before use. Examples of such applications include organ storage and transplants, autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplants, whole blood transplants, platelet transplants, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, skin grafting and storage of tissue biopsies for diagnostic purposes. Preservation techniques are also important in the storage of cell lines for experimental use in hospital, industrial, university and other research laboratories.
Methods currently employed for the preservation of cellular biological materials include immersion in saline-based media; storage at temperatures slightly above freezing; storage at temperatures of about -80.degree. C.; and storage in liquid nitrogen at temperatures of about -196.degree. C. The goal of these techniques is to store living biological materials for an extended period of time with minimal loss of normal biological structure and function.
Storage of organs, such as heart and kidneys, at temperatures below 0.degree. C. frequently results in the loss of many cells with a corresponding reduction in viability of the organ. Such complex biological materials are therefore typically stored in aqueous, saline-based media at temperatures above freezing, typically around 4.degree. C. Saline-based media typically consist of isotonic saline (sodium chloride 0.154 M) which has been modified by the addition of low concentrations of various inorganic ions, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate and bicarbonate, to mimic the extracellular environment. Small amounts of compounds such as glucose, lactose, amino acids and vitamins are often added as metabolites. All saline-based media used for preservation of biological materials have high electrical conductivity. Examples of media currently employed for the preservation of biological materials include phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), M-2 (a Hepes buffered murine culture medium), Ringer's solution and Krebs bicarbonate-buffered medium.
The viability of biological materials stored in saline-based media gradually decreases over time. Loss of viability is believed to be due to the build-up of toxic wastes, and loss of metabolites and other supporting compounds caused by continued metabolic activity. Using conventional saline-based media, living tissues can only be successfully preserved for relatively short periods of time. Examination of the microstructure of organs stored towards the upper limit of time shows degeneration, such as of mitochondria in heart muscle, and the performance of the organ once replaced is measurably compromised. For example, a human heart can only be stored in cold ionic solutions for about 5 hours following removal from a donor, thereby severely limiting the distance over which the heart can be transported.
When employing freezing techniques to preserve biological materials, cryoprotectants, such as glycerol, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), glycols or propanediol, are often introduced to the material prior to freezing in order to limit the amount of damage caused to cells by the formation of ice crystals during freezing. The choice and concentration of cryoprotectant, time-course for the addition of cryoprotectant and temperature at which the cryoprotectant is introduced all play an important role in the success of the preservation procedure. Furthermore, in order to reduce the loss of cells, it is critical that such variables as the rate and time-course of freezing, rate and time-course of thawing and further warming to room or body temperature, and replacement of cryoprotectant solution in the tissue mass with a physiological saline solution be carefully controlled. The large number of handling steps required in freezing techniques increases the loss of cells. The freezing techniques currently employed in the preservation of biological materials are both technically demanding and time consuming. Other disadvantages of preserving biological materials by freezing include: reduction of cell viability; potential toxic effects of the cryoprotectant to the patient upon re-infusion; and the high costs of processing and storage.
As an example, cryopreservation, generally including the addition of DMSO as a cryoprotectant, is presently used to store bone marrow harvested for use in transplantation procedures following, for example, high dose chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In autologous transplants the bone marrow must be preserved for prolonged periods, ranging from weeks to months. However, this technique results in significant reduction of stem cell recovery, to levels as low as 50% or less. An additional disadvantage of this technique is that significant damage to various mature cells can occur, thereby requiring further processing to remove these cells prior to freezing. Finally, the use of DMSO results in moderate to severe toxicity to the patient on re-infusion of the preserved bone marrow.
There thus remains a need in the art for improved methods for the preservation of living biological materials.